Upgrading a

Microsoft Dynamics
NAV 2009 R2 or
Microsoft Dynamics
NAV 2009 SP1
Database to
Microsoft Dynamics
NAV 2015

White Paper

November 2014

Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Data Upgrade Short Overview ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Task 1: Run Upgrade Step 1 in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or SP1 development environment (Classic client) ....... 4
Task 2: Convert the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or SP1 database to a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 database ........... 5
Task 3: Convert the Old Database to a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Format .......................................................................................... 6
Task 4: Connect a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Server Instance to the Converted Database ........................................................... 6
Task 5: Run Schema Synchronization to initialize the database. ........................................................................................................................ 6
Task 6: Import the Application Objects to the Converted Database ................................................................................................................ 7
Task 7: Run the Schema Synchronization .................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Task 8: Run the Data Upgrade to perform Upgrade Toolkit Step 2 .................................................................................................................. 7
Task 9: Delete the Upgrade Objects and Obsolete Tables ................................................................................................................................... 8
Task 10: Import upgraded permission sets and permissions by using the Roles and Permissions XMLports................................. 8
Task 11: Set the Language of the Customer Database .......................................................................................................................................... 9
Task 12: Add New Control Add-ins ................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

Upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015

Introduction
This whitepaper describes the tasks required for upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 database to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015.
Using the uprade toolkit and conversions tools that are available, the tasks will lead you through the process
of converting the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, converting the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 database to Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2015, and finally, converting the old data with the old table and field structure to function
together with the table and field structure of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015.
In order to use the toolkit to upgrade data, you will also need the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013
development environment and Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015.

Data Upgrade Short Overview

The following lists provides a brief description of the steps involved in the data upgrade. The steps are
detailed in the task sections that follow.
1. In Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1, compile all tables.
2. Make a full SQL backup of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 database.
3. Import Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 license into the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 database.
4. Import Upgrade601800.[Country].1.fob (use Replace All action on the Import Worksheet).
5. For each company in the database, run form 104001, Upgrade - Old Version, and choose the Transfer
Data action.
6. Make a full SQL backup of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 database.
7. Run form 104001, Upgrade - Old Version, and then choose the Delete Objects action.
8. Uninstall Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1.
9. Change the compatibility level of the database by using SQL Server Management. Studio.
10. Download the latest Cumulative Update of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 and install the Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2013 development environment.
11. Open the old database with Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 development environment and convert the
database.
12. Uninstall Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.
13. Make a full SQL backup of the database.
14. Install Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 including the Development Environment, Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Server, and Administration Tool components.
15. Open the old database with Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Development environment and convert the
database.
16. Make sure the system tables (which have IDs in 20000000042000000130 range) are compiled (On the
Compile window, set the Synchronize Schema option to Later).
17. Set database role membership for the service account that is used by the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server
instance to db_owner.
18. Connect Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance to the old database.

Upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015

19. Start the development environment as administrator.

20. Synchronize all tables from the Tools menu by selecting Sync. Schema for All Tables, then With
Validation.
21. Import all new Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 objects (use the Replace All action on the Import
Worksheet, and then set the Synchronize Schema option to Later).
22. Import Upgrade601800.[Country].fob.
23. Compile the tables which are not already compiled (set Synchronize Schema option to Later).
24. Synchronize all tables from the Tools menu by selecting Sync. Schema for All Tables, then With
Validation.
25. Make a full SQL backup of the database
26. Run the data upgrade process from the Tools menu by selecting Data Upgrade, and then Start.
27. Delete obsolete tables and upgrade toolkit objects.
28. Import updated permissions sets and permissions.
29. Set language of the database.
30. Import or register the control add-ins.

Task 1: Run Upgrade Step 1 in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or SP1
development environment (Classic client)
1. Make sure that all table objects have compiled successfully.
To compile all table objects, in Object Designer, select all objects of type Table, and then on the Tools
menu, choose Compile. During compilation, Microsoft Dynamics NAV generates or regenerates the BLOB
content in the Object Metadata table that is used in the later steps.
2. Create a copy or a backup of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1
database, and open it in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1
development environment.
3. Add your Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 partner license to the database.
You can do this by selecting the Save License in Database field in the Alter Database window. If the
field was not already selected, a dialog box opens so you can specify the location of your partner license.
If the field was already selected, upload the partner license in the License Information window.
4. Open Object Designer, and then import Upgrade601800.[Country].1.fob from the
\UpgradeToolKit\Local Objects folder. In the Import Worksheet window, choose Replace All, and then
choose the OK button to import the objects.
5. For each company in the database, do the following:
a) Open the company, and make the relevant changes to data. For more information, see Task 3:
Data/Object Changes Prior to Step 1 in the MSDN Library.
b) In Object Designer, run form 104001, Upgrade - Old Version. Choose the Transfer Data button.
Important: After you have completed this step for all companies, we strongly recommend that you
create a full SQL backup the database by using SQL Server management tools.

Upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015

6. When you have transferred all data for all companies, in the Upgrade - Old Version window, choose the
Delete Objects button.
This action deletes all objects in the database that are not tables, but also obsolete tables that belong to
functionality that is not available in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015.

Task 2: Convert the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or SP1 database to a

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 database
1. Uninstall Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2.
2. Download the latest available Cumulative Update for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.
The following is article lists the Cumulative Updates that have been released for Microsoft Dynamics NAV
2013: https://mbs2.microsoft.com/Knowledgebase/kbdisplay.aspx?scid=kb,en-us,2842257
3. Run the installation program (setup.exe) for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, choose Choose an
installation option, choose Custom, and then choose the Client option (with the Development
Environment).
4. Change the compatibility level of the database according to the following:
For SQL Server 2008 R2 set the compatibility level of the database to 100.
For SQL Server 2012, set the compatibility level of the database to 110.
To do this, you use Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio as follows:
a) Start Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the SQL Server instance that includes
the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database.
b) Right-click the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database, and then select Properties.
c) In the Database Properties window, choose the Options page, and then set the Compatibility Level
to the correct value.
5. In the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 development environment, open the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009
R2 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 database and agree to convert the database.
During this step, Microsoft Dynamics NAV converts all text and code fields to Unicode format by
changing their SQL Server data type. This conversion requires more disk space than usual, since both the
database and the log file will grow in size considerably. It can also be a lengthy process.
If your Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 database is using SQL Server Collation, within the same step the
collation will be changed to a suitable Windows collation. This is because Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013
and higher versions only support Windows Collation.
Important: After the database conversion has completed, we strongly recommend that you create a full
SQL backup of the database.
6. The technical upgrade of the database to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 is complete. You can now
uninstall Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.

Upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015

Task 3: Convert the Old Database to a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Format
1. Install Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015.
During the installation of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015, select the Choose an installation option, then
select the Custom option, where you choose to install the Client (with the Development Environment),
Server, and Administration Tool components.
2. To convert the old database to a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 format, open the old database in the
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 development environment, and then follow the instructions.
3. After the database conversion is completed, verify that all system tables are compiled.
System tables have IDs in the range 2000000004 to 2000000130. If any tables are not compiled, then you
must compile them. When you compile tables, on the Compile dialog box, set the Synchronize Schema
option to Later.

Task 4: Connect a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Server Instance to the

Converted Database
1. Using Microsoft SQL Server Management studio, add the service account that is used by the Microsoft
Dynamics NAV Server instance (for example, NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE) as a member of the
db_owner role in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database on SQL Server.
For more information, Giving the account necessary database privileges in SQL Server.
2. Using the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Administration tool, connect a Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server
instance to the converted database.
For more information, see How to: Connect a Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Instance to a Database.

Task 5: Run Schema Synchronization to initialize the database.

You can run the schema synchronization from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment or
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration Shell.
From the development environment:
1. Open development environment as an administrator.
2. On the Tools menu, choose Sync. Schema For All Tables, and choose With Validation, and then follow
the schema synchronization instructions.
If synchronization errors occur, run the schema synchronization from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015
Administration Shell as described in the following procedure. This enables you to get the complete list of
tables that could not be synchronized.
From the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration Shell:
1. Open the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration Shell as an administrator.
2. Run Sync-NavTenant cmdlet as follows:
Sync-NavTenant ServerInstance <ServerInstanceName> -Mode Sync

Upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015

Replace <ServerInstanceName> with the name of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance that is
connected to the database. For more information, see How to: Run the Sync-NAVTenant Cmdlet to
Synchronize the Tenant Database with the Application Database.

Task 6: Import the Application Objects to the Converted Database

1. In the development environment, import all the application objects that you want in the Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2015 database.
When you import the FOB file that contains the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 objects, on the Import
Worksheet, choose Replace All, and then choose the OK button to import the objects.
On the dialog box for selecting the schema synchronization, set the Synchronize Schema option to
Later.
2. After you have imported Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 objects, import the upgrade toolkit FOB file
Upgrade601800.[Country].fob from \UpgradeToolKit\Local Objects folder.
3. Compile all objects that have not been compiled yet. On the Compile dialog box, set the Synchronize
Schema option to Later.

Task 7: Run the Schema Synchronization

Similar to task 5, run the schema synchronization either from the development environment (Tools Sync.
Schema for All Tables With Validation) or from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration Shell.
This will synchronize the data schema changes of the newly imported tables to the SQL tables. It will also run
the Upgrade Toolkit Step 1 logic if it is defined in the upgrade codeunit. This step will be performed for all
companies in the database, so you dont have to re-run it for other companies.
Note: After the schema synchronization has successfully completed, we strongly recommend that you
take a full SQL Server backup of the database.

Task 8: Run the Data Upgrade to perform Upgrade Toolkit Step 2

A data upgrade runs the upgrade toolkit objects, such as upgrade codeunits and upgrade tables, to migrate
business data from the old table structure to the new table structure. You can start the data upgrade from
the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration
Shell.
From the development environment:
1. Open development environment as an administrator.
2. On the Tools menu, choose Data Upgrade, and then choose Start and follow the instructions on the
Start Data Upgrade window.
If you want to see the result of running the Data Upgrade action, run the following cmdlet from Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration Shell:
Get-NAVDataUpgrade -ServerInstance <ServerInstanceName> -Detailed | Out-GridView

Upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015

In the output of this cmdlet, you can see which upgrade codeunits and functions were run, which companies
have been upgraded, the time it took to run each upgrade function, and a detailed description of errors that
occurred during the data upgrade.
If errors occurred while running the data upgrade, you can resolve them directly in the database (for example
by updating the upgrade codeunits) and then resume the data upgrade. To resume the data upgrade, on the
Tools menu, choose Data Upgrade, and then Resume.
Note: To optimize upgrade performance and effectively use the available computer resources, the data
upgrade functions are executed in parallel and across all companies by default. While performing this
step, if you discover that some functions are locking each other from executing, then you can configure
the data upgrade to execute data upgrade functions in serial instead of parallel. To do this, on the Start
Data Upgrade window, set the Execution Mode option to Serial. For more information see
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn762348(v=nav.80).aspx.
From the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration Shell:
Open the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration Shell as an administrator, and then run StartNavDataUpgrade cmdlet as follows:
Start-NavDataUpgrade -ServerInstance <ServerInstanceName> -Force
Replace <ServerInstanceName> with the name of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance that is
connected to the database.
To view the progress of the data upgrade, you can run Get-NavDataUpgrade cmdlet as follows:
Get-NAVDataUpgrade -ServerInstance <ServerInstanceName> -Progress
Note: The data upgrade process runs CheckPreconditions and Upgrade functions in the upgrade
codeunits. If any of the preconditions are not met or an upgrade function fails, you must correct the error
and resume the data upgrade process.

Task 9: Delete the Upgrade Objects and Obsolete Tables

At this point, you have upgraded the database to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015. Now, you can delete the
tables which are not needed into the new application, plus the upgrade codeunits and upgrade table objects
that you imported in task 6.
For application tables, you can see which the tables are marked for deletion in the Version List column in the
Tables list of Object Designer. During the data upgrade that you performed in task 8, these tables were
marked with the text Old Unused Table - marked for deletion. Upgrade objects are marked with the text
Upgrade Toolkit Object - marked for deletion.
When you delete tables, if you dont need the data that is saved in the tables, then on the Delete dialog box,
set the Synchronize Schema option to Force.

Task 10: Import upgraded permission sets and permissions by using the Roles
and Permissions XMLports
You import the permission sets and permissions XML files according to the following procedure.
To import the permission sets and permissions
1. Delete all permission sets in the database except the SUPER permission set.
In Object Designer, run page 9802 Permission Sets, and then delete the permission sets.

Upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015

2. Run XMLport 9171 Import/Export Permission Sets to import the permission sets XML file,
In the request page for the XMLport, in the Direction field, choose Import, choose the OK button, and
then specify the permission sets XML file.
3. Run XMLport 9172 Import/Export Permissions to import the permission XML file.
In the request page for the XMLport, in the Direction field, choose Import, choose the OK button, and
then specify the permissions XML file.

Task 11: Set the Language of the Customer Database

In the development environment, choose Tools, choose Language, and then select the language of the
original customer database.

Task 12: Add New Control Add-ins

The database is now fully upgraded and is ready for use. However, you may want to add the new client
control add-ins that are included in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015. These are not added by the upgrade
process. The following client control add-ins are available from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV product media:
Microsoft.Dynamics.NAV.MicrosoftDynamicsOnlineConnectControl
Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.BusinessChart
Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.PageReady
Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.PingPong
Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.VideoPlayer
Interactive Timeline Visualization Add-in
You can add control add-ins in the Control Add-ins window in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client.
For more information, see How to: Register a Windows Client Control Add-in.

Upgrading a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 or

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Database to
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015

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